Dynamics of a Cold Trapped Ion in a Bose-Einstein Condensate

Abstract

We investigate the interaction of a laser-cooled trapped ion (Ba+ or Rb+) with an optically confined ⁸⁷Rb Bose-Einstein condensate. The system features interesting dynamics of the ion and the atom cloud as determined by their collisions and their motion in their respective traps. Elastic as well as inelastic processes are observed and their respective cross sections are determined. We demonstrate that a single ion can be used to probe the density profile of an ultracold atom cloud.